AltJapan

Tokyo 2009 A.D.

Phone cam dump of random-ass snaps taken over the last year.

Child's Play

Psst... Hey. It's easy to forget, but giant robots are for LITTLE KIDS.

Jumbo Machinder collector Tom Franck's six year old daughter Miranda drew these impressionistic renditions of classic Seventies anime robots. They are far superior to anything you will find at "Comiket." This is what early exposure to massive amounts of polyethylene does to a young child's mind. 

 

Daltanias!

Laff Riot

When it comes to parties, stabbing people in the neck is always a good joke.

Stop Using Cucumbers as a Weapon

"Stop terrorism. Kappa will save the world!" 

(From Sogenji, a.k.a. Kappa Temple, in Asakusa.) 

"Konnichi wa" from Antarctica!

 

I think I just discovered the real reason behind Japan's fascination with whales: they're simply another species of imaginary creature, like the Loch Ness Monster! 

Thanks to Jim Maitland for the vintage snaps.

Freedom vs Teabagging: Japanese Gamers Sound Off

It's no secret that over the last few years, Japanese video game companies have been struggling to attract and retain the same foreign audience that once swarmed to play their products. In the spirit of constructive criticism, IGN writers Erik Brudvig and Ryan Clements published a top ten list of foreign players' top ten complaints about Japanese role-playing games on Monday. Less than a week later, a stack of Japanese replies and comments have appeared on the anonymous sanctuary of the 2ch BBS system.

 As expected, one country's "problems" are another's cultural pride and joy. Oh, the humanity.... People, can't we just get along? Read on for a translation of some of the highlights. 

Japan Bizdev 101

"Why can't Japan build world-class IT company like Google, Amazon, or Apple?"

The wisdom of 2ch:

The main reason why is because we're best at developing business models that already exist, because we have organizational power and a [high] average level of knowledge. But we don't create new genres. Because those same organizations crush individuals who stick out.

Because we put all our effort into manufacturing.

Google's domination of the market is absurd. Google Maps, Google Books, their standlone browser and OS and input system... All they do is absorb knowledge from other countries.

Because the top executives of Japanese IT companies are all in their fifties and sixties, so we don't stand a chance.

They say it's because Japanese lack English skills, but I think Japan's IT leaders seem to speak English pretty well...

What, you can't be satisfied just with being #1 in car exports?

Because any Japanese tech worth his salt goes to the USA.

I guess it was a mistake to prosecute Horiemon.

It's hard to publish hacker related books in Japanese, so we aren't creating new talent.

This isn't only related to the IT world, but Japan doesn't have a culture that respects or invests in entrepreneurs.

Oh, just wait ten years.

And for an answer that could only come from 2ch, drum roll, please...

Our country has a BBS system that is the envy of the world!

The Manga Gap

In a recent diary entry, manga-ka Ken Akamatsu (of "Love Hina" fame, among others) waxes philosophical about the state of the comic book industry in Japan today. It's one of an increasing number of reports from the trenches confirming a phenomenon that became obvious last year: the famous titles sell, everything else doesn't.

As discussed previously, if you are the average manga-ka, you make your real money not off the weekly serialization of your work but rather the tankobon, standard-sized collections of your work that are released for sale at fixed intervals. The problem is, as Akamatsu notes, that 2008 tankobon sales were off 4.9 percent as compared to the previous year, and the trend is expected to continue.

"As source material for TV dramas, films, and anime, and as a standalone product, the tankobon is here to stay," remarks Akamatsu. "The tankobon that do sell, sell in incredible volumes. But this means that the ones that don't, slide into obscurity."

Akamatsu ties the problem directly to the sagging fortunes of Japan's ubiquitous comic magazines. "In the past, the major comic magazines had a 'multiplier effect' in which the standout titles would also in turn increase the visibility of lesser-known ones... But this effect is on the wane. In short, the chances to get to know lesser-known manga are disappearing."

But the big issue (and one left unexplored by Akamatsu) is: do fans WANT to get to know lesser-known manga in the first place? The interesting thing is how this dovetails with comments by Toshio Okada and other old-schoolers, who  -- despite increasingly sounding like your granddad telling you he had to walk uphill both ways to school -- complain of younger fans' tendency to "ghettoize" themselves into tiny bubble-like individual worlds rather than seeking out new experiences. 

Which leads to the real questions: if tastes have truly changed this significantly, how much does complaining about it really help? And what are Japanese creators and media outlets going to change to address the situation?

Encounters of the Fuzzy Kind

When Hiroko and I journeyed to Nagano's Jigokudani (Hell Valley), land of the snow monkey, earlier this month, she collected her thoughts in the form of this article for CNNgo. It also has a full gallery of Hiroko's still photographs (like the one above), so check it out.

(And yes, the bit about her getting into the tub with one at the end is completely and totally true. Here's the proof!)

Props to P-Pro

Rockbat's decapitated head was on display at yesterday's SuperFest, along with assorted other costumes from the enigmatically named P Productions, including Lion Maru, Zaboga, and more. All of it was on loan from the collection of the legendary Yuji Nishimura, founder of the vinyl toy company M-1. More pix here!

 (I'd thought P-Pro was long since out of commission, but they're apparently still in the game, most recently having produced Lion Maru G in 2006.)